Let’s get straight to the point. Credit card companies don’t want you to compare credit card interest rates. The way your provider makes money is by you getting used to using your card for spending, and they are hoping you will over extend and have to pay interest on the outstanding amount each month. But if you do compare credit cards with other providers, you can potentially save yourself thousands in interest over the space of the year.
Did you know that in most credit card contracts there is a clause that means your card provider can raise the amount of interest you are paying if you simply miss or are slightly late with only one payment? You may think you are on a great low interest rate credit card account, but if you are slow in making a payment, your rate may jump to 20% or higher overnight.
Now if you have had this happen to you, one of the best things you can do is transfer the balance over to a new balance transfer credit card account, which could have a 0% interest rate for the life of the transferred amount. This means you are paying nothing in interest as compared to the 20% or more you have been paying up till now.
This may not be the best strategy if you do a lot of everyday spending on your credit card though, as these types of cards are designed specifically to have high amounts of interest on further spending. And this is how the credit card provider will make money from you. If you need a card for buying groceries and other shopping there are some great rewards cards that have low interest for everyday spending often with quite a long interest free period after the initial spend and rewards associated with the amount you spend.
With any credit card you need to make sure you keep up with, at the very least, the minimum monthly repayment. If you use your card frequently, then you should really only spend what you can already afford for the month in cash, and pay this amount in full each month. This way you still get the rewards, but you do not fall behind and begin paying interest.